AES Budapest 2012Tutorial Details

Thursday, April 26, 16:30 — 18:30 (Room: Bartók)

T1 - Mix Kitchen: Mixing Techniques of Electronic Music

Presenter:Marek Walaszek, Addicted to Music Media Group - Gorchow, Poland

Abstract:This tutorial will be based on already-done mixes that will show techniques of modern mixing in electronic and semi-electronic modern music. Marek Walaszek will show a few mixes and talk through the approach to the mixes, effects used, and mix philosophy. He will talk about main production errors, how to prevent them, and how to cure them in the mixing stage.

This tutorial will be supported by a power point presentation and an extensive Q&A.

Friday, April 27, 11:00 — 13:00 (Room: Bartók)

T2 - Ear Training for Mastering Engineers (POSTPONED)

Abstract:This tutorial includes a comprehensive set of tools to improve ear training, focused on what the Mastering Engineer needs to do his job. Dynamic EQ, de-essing, de-woofing, and many other techniques will be shown, aiming to help audience to recognize different ranges of frequency.

NOTE: postponed to Saturday evening - Andres will be available for some Q&A immediately following the "Recording Competition: Part 2" session outside of Room Bartók.

Abstract:The switch from peak to loudness normalization is in full swing not only in Europe, but worldwide. There is an international measurement algorithm (ITU-R BS.1770) as well as a few recommendations, all based on that algorithm. This is arguably the biggest change in the audio leveling world in decades. This tutorial will cover the basics of loudness work and look into some details of where potential pitfalls lie, where there might be or are misunderstandings or misconceptions, and give an brief overview of the current status of loudness implementations in Europe and the world. Examples will be played to illustrate the presentation.

Saturday, April 28, 12:30 — 14:30 (Room: Bartók)

T5 - Reality Is Not a Recording/A Recording Is Not Reality

Presenter:Jim Anderson, New York University - New York, NY, USA

Abstract:The former New York Times film critic, Vincent Canby, wrote "all of us have different thresholds at which we suspend disbelief, and then gladly follow fictions to conclusions that we find logical." Any recording is a "fiction," a falsity, even in its most pure form. It is the responsibility, if not the duty, of the recording engineer and producer, to create a universe so compelling and transparent that the listener isn't aware of any manipulation. Using basic recording techniques, and standard manipulation of audio, a recording is made, giving the listener an experience that is not merely logical but better than reality. How does this occur? What techniques can be applied? How does an engineer create a convincing loudspeaker illusion that a listener will perceive as a plausible reality? Recordings will be played.

Saturday, April 28, 14:30 — 16:30 (Room: Liszt)

T6 - Drum and Percussion Programming

Presenter:Justin Paterson, London College of Music, University of West London - London, UK

Abstract:Drum programming has been evolving at the heart of many studio productions for some 30 years. Over this period, technological opportunities for enhanced creativity have multiplied in numerous directions, from sequenced MIDI one-shots to sample loops, and from DAW cut and stretch techniques to deterministic beat-slicer plug-ins, etc. The palette of sounds available today ranges from ever more realistic to ever more synthetic/exotic. This tutorial will embrace all of these techniques and more—and include numerous live demonstrations. Although introducing all key concepts from scratch, its range and hybridization should provide inspiration even for experienced practitioners, leading up to the state-of-the-art. A number of genres will be covered from the pseudo-realism of jazz and funk, to the exploitation of synthetic textures in “intelligent dance music.”

Saturday, April 28, 15:00 — 16:30 (Room: Bartók)

T7 - How Does It Sound Now? The Evolution of Audio

Abstract:One day Chet Atkins was playing guitar when a woman approached him. She said, “That guitar sounds beautiful.” Chet immediately quit playing. He asked, “How does it sound now?” The quality of sound in Chet’s case clearly rested with the player, not the instrument, and the technical and aesthetic quality of our product lies with our engineers and producers, not solely the equipment. The dual significance of this question, “How does it sound now,” informed my research for the last three years and will inform our discussion, since it addresses both the engineer as the driver and the changes we have seen and heard as our methodology evolved through the decades. The book that resulted from this research, How Does It Sound Now? received the 2010 ARSC Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research for the Best Research in General History of Recorded Sound. One of the most interesting facets of the research, comprised of interviews with top engineers and producers, was the way the conversation kept returning to the thread of quality. They loved to talk about how they strived for quality then, and still do. Let’s talk about how engineers and producers retain quality and create a product that conforms to their own high standards. This may lead to other conversations about musicians, consumers, and the differences and similarities between their standards and our own. How high should our standards be? How did it sound then? How does it sound now? How should it sound tomorrow?

Saturday, April 28, 16:30 — 18:00 (Room: Liszt)

T8 - Semantic Web and Semantic Audio Technologies

Abstract:The emerging Semantic Web provides a powerful framework for the expression and reuse of structured data. Recent efforts have brought this framework to bear on the field of Semantic Audio, as well as information management in audio applications. This tutorial will provide an introduction to Semantic Web concepts and how they can be used in the context of music-related studies. We will outline the use of the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and related ontology and query languages. Using practical examples, we will demonstrate the use of the Music and Studio Ontologies, and show how they facilitate interoperability between audio applications and linked data sets on the Web. We will explore how signal processing tools and results can be described as structured data and utilized in audio production.

Abstract:This tutorial aims at discussing current practices of listening test evaluation. Topics to be covered are post-screening of tests results enabling to reject data from unreliable subjects and analysis of the results. This will cover parametric and non-parametric statistics, and the decision when which of these is necessary. Special emphasis will be set on which conclusions from the analysis are adequate from a mathematical perspective. This tutorial aims at providing researchers with a better understanding of the results of listening tests.

Sunday, April 29, 09:00 — 10:30 (Room: Liszt)

T10 - Noise on the Brain—Hearing Damage on the Other Side

Presenter:Poppy Crum, Dolby Laboratories - San Francisco, CA, USA

Abstract:Did you know that drinking a glass of orange juice every day may actually protect your hearing? Most discussions of hearing damage focus on what happens to the cochlea and inner ear. While this understanding is crucial to predicting and avoiding trauma that can lead to hearing loss, both acoustic and chemical stimuli can also have significant effects on higher brain areas. In some cases, thresholds and audiograms can look completely normal but listeners may have great difficulty hearing a conversation in a noisy environment. This session will explore the latest research regarding the effects of acoustic and chemical trauma, and how this damage manifests throughout the auditory pathway as changes in hearing sensitivity, cognition, and the experience of tinnitus. We will also consider recent research in chemically preserving hearing and combating these conditions with supplements as common as Vitamin C!

Sunday, April 29, 09:00 — 10:30 (Room: Bartók)

T11 - Design of a Dynamic Range Compressor

Presenter:Josh Reiss, Queen Mary University of London - London, UK

Abstract:Despite being one of the most widely used audio effects, dynamic range compression, remains poorly understood. And there is little formal knowledge and analysis of compressor design techniques. This tutorial will describe several approaches to digital dynamic range compressor design. It will demonstrate how to build a compressor from the ground up, and provide audio examples showcasing differences between designs. It will explain why the designs sound different, and provide distortion-based metrics to analyze their quality. It will also provide recommendations for high performance compressor design.

Sunday, April 29, 11:00 — 13:00 (Room: Liszt)

T12 - Large Room Acoustics: Basics and New Developments

Presenter:Diemer de Vries - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract:In the sound recording and reproduction chain, the audio engineer has to deal with the acoustics of the environment—usually an enclosed space, a “room”—he or she is working in. The physical properties of the acoustics of a room can be studied by advanced measurements or simulations, but what counts at the end is the perceptual quality of the acoustics. The challenge of the modern room acoustics researcher is to find an unambiguous relation between physics and perception. In the tutorial—which is focused on large rooms—it will be discussed how, long ago, only “reverberation time” was considered as the important parameter. Later, and until now, parameters were derived from impulse responses. Recent developments show that also these responses may have had their longest time as the scientific foundation of room acoustics.

Sunday, April 29, 12:00 — 13:00 (Room: Lehar)

T13 - Binaural Auditory Models

Presenter:Ville Pulkki, Aalto University - Helsinki, Finland

Abstract:The working principles of brain mechanisms of binaural hearing have been debated during the last decade. In 1990s the common thinking was that human binaural decoding is based on delay lines and coincidence counters, as proposed by the Jeffress model. Later, some neurophysiological findings questioned the existence of such delay lines, and some evidence was found bolstering the count-comparison model proposed by Bekesy. In count-comparison model, the binaural differences are rate-coded between the left and brain right hemispheres. This tutorial will introduce the basic principles of most common binaural auditory models, and review some latest improvements in the models.

Sunday, April 29, 14:00 — 15:30 (Room: Liszt)

T14 - Small Room Acoustics

Abstract:Acoustic basics of small rooms will be discussed. Specific issues related to the size of the room (room-modes) will be addressed. Absorption, reflection, diffraction, diffusion and how to use it, as well as specific aspects regarding low frequency treatment will be discussed.

Although this will not be a studio design class, specifics and differences of recording rooms and control rooms will be identified, including considerations for loudspeaker and microphone placement.

Sunday, April 29, 15:00 — 16:30 (Room: Brahms)

T15 - The Making of The Beach Boys Smile Sessions

Presenters:Mark LinettBarry Marshall

Abstract:Arguably the greatest “lost” album of all time, The Beach Boys Smile album sessions were finally released last November, in both a 2 CD and 5 CD version, along with vinyl and other digital configurations. The co-producer of the project, Mark Linett, will be interviewed by producer and educator Barry Marshall about the legendary 1966-67 sessions. The presentation will provide historical context on the role of producer Brian Wilson, as well as a focus on the technical and logistical challenges (like mixing and mastering from 45-year-old tapes at different configurations, speeds and sizes!) faced by co-producer and mix engineer Mark Linett in compiling this landmark release.